Defense Against The Dark Arts

The Decree of Damnation

1st July 2022

This updating in the first day of the month instead of the last isn't going to be a thing. I just forgot woops. *Hands over generic excuse*. Anyway, I'm trying to be as close to canon as possible, but I haven't read Harry Potter in  a long time so yeah. Hope you all had a great pride month!

We started settling into a routine of teaching and exploring and avoiding Umbridge during the first week of the term, and soon we started to get to know the castle better. (We even managed to get to the kitchens from our classroom without going wrong for the first time!)

However, on the eighth of September, the Sunday before the start of the second week of term, Umbridge makes an announcement at dinner, to the horror of everyone.

"It's been so lovely to see everyone settling in so well and calmly," she says, "Although I've noticed that there seems to be a certain lack of... Discipline in this school." (Cue disgusted looks by almost every professor), "There have been interruptions and rumours spreading about, and so I think it's high time I put my foot down. Starting tomorrow, I will be inspecting each class, to see behaviour and our application to learning. This will also be a time for me to see how each professor's lessons could be improved, and perhaps... Remove any ineffective practices."

By the end of the speech, every  professor is glaring murderously at her, not even bothering to hide their dissatisfaction at her barely covered threat. She sits down again, and continues eating, oblivious.

On Monday morning, Filch is nailing a wooden board onto the wall, with a poster on it loudly proclaiming Educational Decree No. 23, with a small explanation stating that she was going to come into our classroom and be a nuisance. Me and Percy share annoyed glances, and then walk into the Great Hall to eat breakfast.

In our next lesson, thankfully she isn't there, and we, as well as our students all sigh in relief, and the lesson passes normally. In our last lesson of the day (5th year Gryffindors), Harry and Ron inform us of Umbridge's meddling in their Divination class that they had had previously.

"It's awful," Ron says after class, when almost everyone is gone. "She spent the whole time just... lingering in a corner, and coughing - y'know how she did it during Dumbledore's speech, and then she questioned Trelawney. Like, I hate Trelawney, but I definitely prefer her over Umbridge."

Harry nods in agreement. "Do you know when she'll be inspecting your class?"

"Hopefully never," Percy mutters.

"She will send a note to us for when it is," I explain. "And she's absolutely going to hate our lessons." I add on as an afterthought.

"But she can't fire you!" Hermione exclaims. "Otherwise, Dumbledore will have to find a new defence professor, and as no one wants the position, then the ministry will put another horrible person in Hogwarts. Honestly, I don't know how the previous years have passed their defence OWLs, the only successful teacher we have had was Remus."

"Moody was alright?" Ron suggests, "Well, until we found out he was a Death Eater and tried to kill Harry. But still."

I look at Harry in bemusement. "He tried to kill you?"

"It's a standard thing with defence professors. I haven't actually had one yet that didn't try to at least permanently harm me."